We arranged six columns each made out of products that we sell throughout the hardware store. Each item (the packaging or the product itself) is one of the six colors from the 1979 version of the Gay Pride flag, the one that is most widely used today. Those colors are red, orange, yellow, green, royal blue and violet.

So stop on by and check out the window this week through Saturday (we’re closed on Sunday’s).

Have fun in the pride march this Sunday and a wonderful Pride Week!

The Kove Brothers Hardware window display celebrates the 2016 NYC Pride Week with the colors of the LBGT flag.

The Kove Brothers Hardware window display on the right celebrates the 2016 NYC Pride Week with the colors of the LBGT flag.

There’s something special about the Traditional Canvas Tool Bag made by Klein Tools. The design is simple and elegant. The materials: natural canvas top; rivets; steel; leather; stitching and brown vinyl bottom. Construction workers use them to carry their tools. The average customer wants them in place of their backpacks or purses. One look at Klein Tools’ Traditional Canvas Tool Bag, and you know that whoever is carrying it is ready to get to work.

Recently, we spotted NYC videographer and photographer Josiah Esowe and his canvas Klein Tool Bag on the NYC Subway.

The Klein Tools’ Traditional Canvas Tool Bags have been a regular feature in our shop windows. The three sizes displayed here are (from left to right) the twelve, sixteen and twenty-four inch sizes.

This is the litter basket that Kove Brothers Hardware takes care of through the NYC Dept. of Sanitation Adopt-a-Basket Program.

The NYC Dept. of Sanitation provides us with green trash basket liners for their Adopt-a-Basket Program.

Adopt-a-Basket Program green trash basket liners provided by the NYC Dept. of Sanitation.

The NYC Department of Sanitation Adopt-a-Basket Program

A few months ago, the NYC Department of Sanitation (NYCDS) asked us if we’d like to be a volunteer in its Adopt-a-Basket Program. The program offers local businesses the opportunity to take care of, or adopt, a NYCDS litter basket next to their establishment.

We jumped at the opportunity immediately. These days, many of the public litter baskets can overflow with garbage well before the NYC Sanitation teams can get to them on their regular schedules. So, it was a bit of a no-brainer that we’d participate. Here are the details.

There’s nothing like a freshly painted crosswalk to brighten one’s day. NYC DOT was installing #thermoplastic markings this morning at the 21st & 7th Ave intersection right outside our building. This DOT crew runs a smooth and efficient operation of cordoning off their work area as they go, sweeping away debris, installing the markings and then heading off to their next location.

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation planted this hornbeam tree that’s situated right next to our hardware store. It’s one of the trees that were planted as a part of the Million Trees NYC project. If you live in NYC and there are any trees on your block, take a look to see if any of those trees are part of the project. If you want to help take care of the one or more of them, just follow the instructions on the metal tag which should looped around one of the branches.

A Thing of Beauty

This is a Fairmount 1-1/16th inch wrench. It’s not a particularly old tool compared to actual antique tools that were made at least 100 years ago. But, its shape is different enough from today’s wrenches that it can grab the attention of even the occasional tool handler. Some might say that this Fairmount wrench looks dated. Others might say that it looks just right and wonder why they don’t make them like this anymore.

It’s not known exactly what year, let alone what decade, this wrench was manufactured. But it’s safe to say that it was made in the 1900’s. According to Alloy-Artifacts.org, Fairmount Tool and Forging was founded in Cleveland, OH in 1917.

A Familiar Sign

The main sign for our hardware store is a landmark — literally. It can be seen from two blocks away. It’s a two-story tall, vertical, rectangular sign emblazoned with the word “HARDWARE” in red capital letters. The sign is easy to see from a distance because it’s attached to the corner of the building and thrusts out over the sidewalk corner. It’s hard miss.

The vertical sign on the building at Kove Brothers Hardware in Manhattan, NYC.

Kove Brothers Hardware on a sunny, spring day at the northeast corner of 7th Avenue and West 21 Street in Manhattan, NYC.

The south (or downtown) side of Kove Brothers Hardware as seen from West 21 Street in Manhattan, NYC. 7th Ave. can be seen in the background to the left.

The south (or downtown) side of Kove Brothers Hardware as seen from West 21 Street in Manhattan, NYC.